Cosmetic particles are known in the art. Cosmetic particles can entrap a wide variety of additives including active agents for cosmetic and dermatological use to allow for better storage and/or controlled release of additives. Cosmetic particles can be formulated to be soft to add a visual and tactile appeal to the topical formulation in which they are incorporated, to deliver additives, and to deliver emolliency. Soft cosmetic particles may be rubbed into the skin leaving substantially no discernible debris and delivering additives to a user's skin, hair and/or nails. Cosmetic particles may also be formulated to be hard for visual appeal and to provide a mechanical exfoliating effect. Cosmetic particles typically maintain their structural integrity (i.e., generally do not substantially deform) when incorporated into a topical formulation.
The hardness of cosmetic particles is typically determined using a tactile scale that subjectively measures the amount of pressure applied between fingertips needed to deform the cosmetic particle. The hardness can range from very soft, where almost no pressure is needed to deform the cosmetic particle, to very hard where under normal pressure the beads will generally not deform but maintain their structural integrity and are rough on the skin, thus providing a mechanical exfoliating effect. Hard cosmetic particles typically deform only with considerable pressure.
Unfortunately, as almost no pressure is needed to deform soft cosmetic particles, cosmetic and dermatological agents may undesirably be released from soft cosmetic particles prior to their topical use. In addition, the storage and shipment of soft cosmetic particles may be problematic as they can lose their structural integrity and fuse into a single mass, because of, for example, the weight of overlying beads. However, while hard cosmetic particles generally maintain their structural integrity throughout storage and shipping and when incorporated into topical formulations, such hard cosmetic particle formulations typically do not deliver additives and provide the feel and emolliency features offered by soft cosmetic particles.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide cosmetic particle compositions that advantageously permit hard cosmetic particles to transform to soft cosmetic particles after storage and shipment and after their incorporation into a topical formulation. It is also desirable that the transformed cosmetic particles can provide a tactile sensation and deliver emolliency to the skin, hair and nails of a mammalian subject or to another target. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims and this background of the invention.